PT, OT: Helping Patients Get Well
If you see a doctor for an injury, arthritis, back pain or even a mental health issue, you are likely to get prescriptions for physical therapy and occupational therapy. Although these may be less familiar to you than a medication, they are important components of treatment.
Commonly known as PT and OT, these treatments are not guaranteed to give instant relief, as a pill might, and they will require considerable effort on your part. In part because they do require active participation, they are more likely to make lasting positive changes in your health and life.
Physical therapy seems fairly straightforward. You have an injured muscle in your thigh, and a physical therapist helps you rehabilitate it through stretching and strengthening exercises and maybe massage, electrostimulation or other methods to reduce the inflammation.
Occupational therapy is not as easy to understand because it involves a great deal more than a return to work, as the name suggests. Occupation, in this case, refers to anything people do to occupy themselves, including every day activities and social interactions as well as work life.
Occupational and physical therapists often work together, and the two treatments have similarities but also differences. If one or both is part of your treatment plan or if you’re considering one of them as a career option, you need to understand the goals and strategies of each in a bit more detail.
PHYSICAL THERAPY entails much more than treating sore muscles or joints. A physical therapist is a highly educated, licensed health care professional who can help you manage a wide range of problems, including headaches, fractures, arthritis, amputations, heart attack, stroke, birth conditions and work or sports injuries.
Where To Find?
West River Rehabilitation and Wellness Center in Hettinger provides physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy services. For more information call 701-567-6044 or http://www.wrhs.com/Rehab.asp
You can probably find several private physical therapy or rehabilitation centers in your community. And physical therapists also work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, schools, work settings, fitness facilities and nursing homes.
Don was sent to physical therapy for treatment of a strained quadriceps muscle in his left leg. The sports medicine physician provided instructions, but the therapist made his own diagnosis. He examined the leg, asked questions and had Don stand from a seated position and walk across the room He then developed a treatment plan consisting of two to three days a week of therapy for six weeks, as the physician suggested.
The plan included stretching exercises, hands-on therapy, electrostimulation to relieve inflammation and exercises such as lunges and modified squats. With running, jogging and brisk walking not allowed while healing was taking place, Don’s pain faded quickly, and, within a few weeks, his quad muscle was strong enough to start rehab for a few minutes on a stationary bike and weight machine.
A stroke survivor or a patient requiring help with disabilities caused by Parkinson’s disease would require a different course of treatment, but the goal would be the same–to restore and improve movement and relieve pain
A PT in pediatrics might help parents of children with developmental problems such as torticollis, a slight twisting of the head and neck (sometimes caused by position in the womb) or the flattened head that results from placing a baby to sleep on his or her back (the preferred position to prevent SIDS).
A physical therapist typically has completed at least three years of study in anatomy, physiology, neuroscience and pharmacology, culminating in a Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) degree.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: Before returning to work after a job-related injury, a patient may need to learn new ways of performing his tasks and a changed work environment as well as physical therapy to relieve the pain and disability. Occupational therapy, though, encompasses much more than a return-to-work.
According to the theory of OT, there are numerous occupations or activities that are crucial to health, well being, independence and self confidence. These include playing, learning, leisure, self care and interacting with friends and community.
A person who becomes temporarily or permanently unable to handle any of these activities benefits from occupational therapy. This usually involves dealing with the social, psychological, community, environmental and physical causes and effects of an injury or illness.
A child with learning deficits can benefit from occupational therapy. So can a senior dealing with a chronic, progressive disease such as multiple sclerosis or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The OT approach is particularly helpful for treating mental, emotional and addiction problems.
While the basic ideas of OT can be traced to ancient Greek and Roman physicians who used therapeutic baths, massage, exercise, music and conversation to heal, the profession in this country developed between 1910 and 1920, challenging some of the views of mainstream scientific medicine. Some of the principles and techniques were borrowed from other fields–nursing, psychiatry, rehabilitation, social work, orthopedics and self-help.
The approach is generally holistic and patient-centered. Based on visits to the home and job sites, the therapist works with the patient and family to develop an individualized evaluation of the problem and recommendations for healthy changes that need to be made. These recommendations may include alterations in the environment as well as changes in the way tasks are performed.
Jessica, an adolescent who felt tied in knots because of an anxiety disorder, was taught the skill of task analysis: breaking down tasks, such as math homework, into achievable parts in order to reduce frustration and anxiety. The therapist also helped her learn to use lists and schedules to organize her life and develop an action plan for times when she was experiencing distress.
Marie, a senior with arthritis, needed physical therapy to ease her pain and stiffness but also occupational therapy for learning to manage every day tasks such as lifting a skillet from a drawer.
Like physical therapists, occupational therapists have advanced degrees–either a master’s or doctorate in the field.
Physical therapy and occupational therapy are frequently intertwined. In an ideal world, virtually everyone with a severe illness (and some with less serious ailments) would have both as part of a comprehensive treatment plan.
REFERENCES:
American Physical Therapy Association, “Who are physical therapists?” last updated September 11, 2012.
American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc. “About occupational therapy,” “Achieving mental health.”
Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists, “How occupational therapy works with relevant case studies.
“Occupational therapist,” Best Healthcare Jobs, U.S. News.
“Occupational therapy,” KidsHealth, reviewed by Wendy Harris, B.S., OTR/L, July 2010.
Brett Sears,”What is physical therapy?” About.com Physical Therapy, updated April 4, 2012.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Physical Therapists: Occupational Outlook Handbook, April 6, 2012.
03/04/2013
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